Foley: We must learn to be clinical

Munster may have lost the back-to-back games for the first time in history, but coach Anthony Foley believes there is a lot they can take out of their two jousts with Clermont Auvergne.

And he wants them to quickly park their Champions Cup campaign and turn their focus to maintain their position at the top of the Pro12 when they head to Glasgow next weekend.

“The past fortnight things didn’t go our way but we didn’t tag ourselves as victims, we got on with it. We turned up to work and we tried to get performances.

“We did a lot of good things but at stages during the game we did crucial things at times that ultimately led to our downfall. But these guys need to be exposed to this level of rugby and we go back into the PRO12 and we’re top of that table and we have got to play the teams around us now over Christmas.

“It’s a high-end place to be so we have got to make sure our performances are right. There are crucial moments in games where we can build pressure on the opposition but also we must adapt to alleviate pressure.”

Foley said that a side of Clermont’s quality will always pounce if they spot an opportunity. “They are a very good side, a very good squad. It’s just a matter of dealing with it when you get your moment. You have got to be clinical and unfortunately in the first few minutes we weren’t. We could have put a bit of panic into them and we didn’t.”

He lamented that their early dominance didn’t secure more than a 6-0 advantage but felt that Clermont deserve credit for keeping their composure.

“Aurelien Rougerie made a great read on Ian Keatley, and that could have been 13-0. Suddenly (if Keatley scored) the crowd starts to change, they start panicking and get frustrated. But we didn’t get to that point where we could do that to them. We were close but unfortunately the best thing we could get was one point. We got ourselves into a situation where we could get something out of the game. We’d like to get out of here with four points and be the first team from Munster to do that. But we didn’t.

“We leave here with a point. I think it puts on 10 points, they’re on 14 and Sarries on 13. There’s a bit of rugby to play yet.”

His front row injury problems intensified going into the game with looseheads James Cronin and Dave Kilcoyne ruled out and he unsure when they will be back in action.

“We just need to see how it settles,” said Foley. “There was a glimmer of light that James could have made this game but that was taken out of our hands on Wednesday. He couldn’t partake in training. Andrew Smith got a bang just below the knee but we don’t know how bad that is. We’ve got a six-day turnaround to Glasgow away so it’s not an easy fixture. This is what we look forward to, a top of the table clash against Glasgow away from home. It’s going to be a tough weekend but we’ll get right for that,” added Foley.